A Piece of Me
by Wordblock-93
Summary: Levi and Mikasa share an intimate moment as they reflect on those that they've lost in the fight against Titans. (Mikasa is aged up to 20) There are spoilers for those that haven't read the manga past where the anime left off.


"So the only time you take your scarf off is when you sleep. I thought it would be permanently fused to your neck by this time."

Mikasa turned towards him, her muscle memory reaching her fingers toward her neck to hide the blush. She stretched her neck up and looked out, noting the faded red fabric slung over the back of his chair, too far out of her reach. "It's very important to me."

"Because Jaeger gave it to you. I know." They both laid there in the comfortable, routine silence, Levi playing in her silky dark strands. Her hair was almost shoulder length at this point. Mikasa was contemplative, biting her lip and staring at the ceiling, "What is it?" He inquired, propping himself up on his elbow facing her.

She laid on her back a little longer before turning her head to him, "He gave it to me after my parents were killed. It's the only semblance of family I have left." Her tone was level, almost cold as she tried to stifle the emotion that still rose up whenever she thought about that day. Levi was silent, his only response was pulling her close, caressing her face, trying to soften the stone expression."Like your patches," She added.

He froze, thinking of the pile of cloth wings that he tore from his dead comrades' uniforms. There were no medals or memorials for the unsung heroes, those who lost their lives for humanity. The most that Levi could do for them was keep their memories alive. However, the patches were slowly lost as the Survey Corps drifted from place to place, discovering new enemies at every turn. Despite this, there wasn't a day that Levi didn't think about them, even if it was just for a second. But the past was the past. Just like with his family, he had to let go of his friends and comrades too.

"You commemorate the dead, while I commemorate the living," Mikasa mused, "if I would've lost Eren, I would wear the scarf in his memory. But I decided to wear it now in memory what life was like before the titans. When him, Grisha and Karla took me in as one of their own, especially since he's the only one I have left. People who save your life have a way of stitching themselves into your heart."

"But you have to let go." Levi's voice gruff. "If we hold on to everyone we lose in this world, we'll lose our sanity."

Mikasa sat up, her back against the wall and stared at him, searching him. Over the past few months, the two had come to let each other in piece by piece. He laid his head on her thigh, looking into her eyes.

"What if you lost me, Levi? Would you let me go?"

Levi frowned, "I won't lose you."

"But how do you know?"

"Because I won't allow it." He looked away from her, signaling that the conversation was done. Mikasa sighed in resignation, sliding back down into the bed, while Levi snaked his arm around her waist. He pulled himself up to her back, his hold on her tight. "I lost most of my comrades because I wasn't there to help them. I'm not making that mistake again, especially not with someone who has a piece of me."

This time it was Mikasa that froze. Levi never verbalized his feelings, they were just shown. At this point however, the strict boundaries between superior and subordinate were blurred, as more and more kept happening, everyone was looking for a method to cope with the shed human blood and the paranoia that the squad faced daily. Mikasa and Levi were each other's coping mechanism; she didn't think she was anything more.

She turned her body towards his and placed her ear against his chest. His fast heart beat betrayed him and she pulled away, looking up at him, but he didn't look down at her, leaving her to look at the underside of his chin. There were parts of him that he wasn't ready to reveal to her yet. She didn't push him, but instead held on to him tighter, and he responded in the like. They fell asleep like this, holding on tight and refusing to let go.

Mikasa woke up to a cold, an empty space where Levi was only a few hours before. She picked up the paper lying in his place:

"Meeting with Hanji. I'll see you at breakfast."

She grabbed her scarf and crept to her room, hoping not to meet anybody on the way. She showered and dressed, still mulling over the conversation her and her captain had only the night before. A knock at the door broke her out of her reverie, and she opened it, yet no one was there. She looked around again and spotted white fabric tied loosely around her doorknob. She untied it and held it up, trying to figure out what exactly this was and why it was around her door.

When it dawned on her, she blushed, her pale complexion three shades redder. She looked at her scarf on the bed, and the fabric in her hand. Unable to pick which one to wear, she tied the cravat around her neck and tied her scarf looser, trying to display both. She had never tied a cravat before and the inexperience showed, but it was getting late, and she needed to eat before they went on their mission.

She walked into the dining room of their makeshift base, slowly gaining the attention of her squad, namely Armin.

"Hey Mikasa, what's the white thing above your scarf?"

She paused for a millisecond, embarrassed by Armin's question and the room went silent. Everyone was facing her except Levi.

"It looks like a… cravat?" Sasha responded as she narrowed her eyes in suspicion, "Since when did you start wearing a cravat?"

At this point, Levi had turned towards her, his eyes amused by her obvious discomfort. She eyed him subconsciously, no one noting except him. The corner of his mouth quirked up almost into a grin as he shook his head, disappointed. Hanji had noticed that his trademark neck wear was missing, but thought he was washing it. When she saw Mikasa and noticed Levi's subtle display, she had to cover her mouth to keep from giggling too loud and smiling too hard.

"Oi, Ackerman, I'd hoped you would know how to tie a cravat by now. It's been months."

Mikasa blushed harder, itching to reach for her scarf, but not wanting to show weakness to Levi. She stood still, trying her hardest to stay cool and collected, while keeping her food on her plate.

Jean was slowly putting two and two together and was bristling at the conclusion he had drawn, "Wait Mikasa, are you and Captain Levi-"

She threw a baked potato in his face.

 _She threw a boiled potato at his face._


End file.
